Michael Le Page
@mjflepage.bsky.social
Award-winning reporter at New Scientist who clings to the belief that good journalism mattters. I write about life on Earth, inc climate ☀️, food 🍱, CRISPR 🧬 and biomed 💊
My bio & stories: https://www.newscientist.com/author/michael-le-page
My bio & stories: https://www.newscientist.com/author/michael-le-page
Pinned
Can we genetically improve humans using George Church’s famous list?
Columnist Michael Le Page delves into a catalogue of hundreds of potentially beneficial gene mutations and variants that is popular with transhumanists
www.newscientist.com
Could we genetically enhance 🧬 our kids if we wanted to, as the startup Bootstrap Bio wants to do? 🧪
In my latest column I take a look at what might be possible now:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
In my latest column I take a look at what might be possible now:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
How life began? We've evolved an RNA that can carry out all the steps needed to copy itself, tho not yet all at once 🧪
What's really impressing biologists is how small it is - smaller molecules are more likely to arise spontaneously
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
What's really impressing biologists is how small it is - smaller molecules are more likely to arise spontaneously
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
RNA strand that can almost self-replicate may be key to life's origins
Life may have begun when RNA molecules began to replicate themselves, and now we’ve finally found an RNA molecule that is very close to being able to do this
www.newscientist.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:31 AM
How life began? We've evolved an RNA that can carry out all the steps needed to copy itself, tho not yet all at once 🧪
What's really impressing biologists is how small it is - smaller molecules are more likely to arise spontaneously
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
What's really impressing biologists is how small it is - smaller molecules are more likely to arise spontaneously
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
Oh look, going renewable really does lower energy prices, like everyone's been saying it will - except oil and gas companies and all the politicians in their pay
By my colleague Alice Klein
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
By my colleague Alice Klein
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
This state’s power prices are plummeting as it nears 100% renewables
South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind and solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30 per cent in a year and sometimes ...
www.newscientist.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Oh look, going renewable really does lower energy prices, like everyone's been saying it will - except oil and gas companies and all the politicians in their pay
By my colleague Alice Klein
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
By my colleague Alice Klein
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
A big challenge for CRISPR gene editing 🧬 is altering a high enough proportion of target cells in the body 🧪
So @doudna-lab.bsky.social have developed editors that can amplify themselves by spreading from cell to cell
Comment from @gaetanburgio.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
So @doudna-lab.bsky.social have developed editors that can amplify themselves by spreading from cell to cell
Comment from @gaetanburgio.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Gene editing that spreads within the body could cure more diseases
The idea of self-amplifying gene editing is to get cells to pass on packages of CRISPR machinery to their neighbours, boosting the effect
www.newscientist.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:46 PM
A big challenge for CRISPR gene editing 🧬 is altering a high enough proportion of target cells in the body 🧪
So @doudna-lab.bsky.social have developed editors that can amplify themselves by spreading from cell to cell
Comment from @gaetanburgio.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
So @doudna-lab.bsky.social have developed editors that can amplify themselves by spreading from cell to cell
Comment from @gaetanburgio.bsky.social
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Olympic commentator “it’s natural talent… his parents were great skaters too”
Ffs, we’re so blind to privilege
Ffs, we’re so blind to privilege
February 10, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Olympic commentator “it’s natural talent… his parents were great skaters too”
Ffs, we’re so blind to privilege
Ffs, we’re so blind to privilege
In my last column I explored the prospects for genetically enhancing 🧬 humans, with a look through the famous list of rare protective variants with large effects maintained by George Church 1/
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Protective alleles
Geo.Church.
arep.med.harvard.edu
February 10, 2026 at 3:04 PM
In my last column I explored the prospects for genetically enhancing 🧬 humans, with a look through the famous list of rare protective variants with large effects maintained by George Church 1/
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Reposted by Michael Le Page
Podcast!
💥Elon Musk's proposal for orbital data centres
💥Kids ODing on melatonin-laced gummies
💥Global pesticide threat is growing
open.spotify.com/episode/0EUy... with @pennysarchet.bsky.social, @astrojonny.bsky.social @mjflepage.bsky.social
💥Elon Musk's proposal for orbital data centres
💥Kids ODing on melatonin-laced gummies
💥Global pesticide threat is growing
open.spotify.com/episode/0EUy... with @pennysarchet.bsky.social, @astrojonny.bsky.social @mjflepage.bsky.social
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Podcast!
💥Elon Musk's proposal for orbital data centres
💥Kids ODing on melatonin-laced gummies
💥Global pesticide threat is growing
open.spotify.com/episode/0EUy... with @pennysarchet.bsky.social, @astrojonny.bsky.social @mjflepage.bsky.social
💥Elon Musk's proposal for orbital data centres
💥Kids ODing on melatonin-laced gummies
💥Global pesticide threat is growing
open.spotify.com/episode/0EUy... with @pennysarchet.bsky.social, @astrojonny.bsky.social @mjflepage.bsky.social
When we exercise more 🏃♀️ our bodies save energy in other ways - and if we eat less at the same time this can complete cancel out the energy spent exercising 🧪
Exercise has many other benefits, of c.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514600-why-exercise-isnt-much-help-if-you-are-trying-to-lose-weight/
Exercise has many other benefits, of c.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514600-why-exercise-isnt-much-help-if-you-are-trying-to-lose-weight/
Why exercise isn't much help if you are trying to lose weight
When we exercise more, our bodies may compensate by using less energy for other things – especially if we eat less too
www.newscientist.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:29 PM
When we exercise more 🏃♀️ our bodies save energy in other ways - and if we eat less at the same time this can complete cancel out the energy spent exercising 🧪
Exercise has many other benefits, of c.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514600-why-exercise-isnt-much-help-if-you-are-trying-to-lose-weight/
Exercise has many other benefits, of c.
www.newscientist.com/article/2514600-why-exercise-isnt-much-help-if-you-are-trying-to-lose-weight/
At a 2022 UN biodiversity meeting countries agreed to halve the "overall risks" of pesticides by 2030 but failed to say what this means 🧪
Now a measure of the risks of pesticides has been developed - and they are increasing in almost every country
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Now a measure of the risks of pesticides has been developed - and they are increasing in almost every country
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
The toxic burden of pesticides is growing all around the world
Pesticides are becoming more toxic and just about every country is using more of them year after year, despite a UN target to halve the overall risk by 2030
www.newscientist.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:44 AM
At a 2022 UN biodiversity meeting countries agreed to halve the "overall risks" of pesticides by 2030 but failed to say what this means 🧪
Now a measure of the risks of pesticides has been developed - and they are increasing in almost every country
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Now a measure of the risks of pesticides has been developed - and they are increasing in almost every country
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Beavers would build leaky dams for free and maintain them 24/7
news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/500-homes-lo...
news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/500-homes-lo...
500 homes, local habitats and wildlife will benefit from Epping Forest ‘leaky dams’ project
374 new purposefully designed ‘leaky dams’ are being installed across Epping Forest – making it the largest natural flood-management project of its kind in the southeast.The scheme will reduce flood risk for over 500 homes by slowing peak flows during heavy rainfall and bring a range of ecological benefits to the Forest.City Corporation in...
news.cityoflondon.gov.uk
February 4, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Beavers would build leaky dams for free and maintain them 24/7
news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/500-homes-lo...
news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/500-homes-lo...
Reposted by Michael Le Page
And the ticking time bomb of SSPE (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subacut... ) where 1 in 600 infants who get measles get a ticking time bomb planted in their brain that kills them YEARS later publications.aap.org/aapnews/news...
California child dies from measles-related complications
A school-age child who contracted measles as an infant died from a rare complication after initially recovering from the infection.
publications.aap.org
February 2, 2026 at 3:05 AM
And the ticking time bomb of SSPE (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subacut... ) where 1 in 600 infants who get measles get a ticking time bomb planted in their brain that kills them YEARS later publications.aap.org/aapnews/news...
How non-bitter CRISPR grapefruit could be the first step towards a future in which citrus fruits like oranges 🍊 are grown in temperate regions like the UK rather than subtropical places like Florida 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
CRISPR grapefruit without the bitterness are now in development
Gene-editing citrus fruits to make them less bitter could not only encourage more people to eat them, it might also help save the industry from a devastating plague
www.newscientist.com
February 2, 2026 at 1:37 PM
How non-bitter CRISPR grapefruit could be the first step towards a future in which citrus fruits like oranges 🍊 are grown in temperate regions like the UK rather than subtropical places like Florida 🧪
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Could we genetically enhance 🧬 our kids if we wanted to, as the startup Bootstrap Bio wants to do? 🧪
In my latest column I take a look at what might be possible now:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
In my latest column I take a look at what might be possible now:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Can we genetically improve humans using George Church’s famous list?
Columnist Michael Le Page delves into a catalogue of hundreds of potentially beneficial gene mutations and variants that is popular with transhumanists
www.newscientist.com
February 2, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Could we genetically enhance 🧬 our kids if we wanted to, as the startup Bootstrap Bio wants to do? 🧪
In my latest column I take a look at what might be possible now:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
In my latest column I take a look at what might be possible now:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
“I reminded myself that the terrible thing that had most likely happened here was me”
Great line in Artificial Condition by @marthawells.com
Great line in Artificial Condition by @marthawells.com
February 1, 2026 at 11:15 PM
“I reminded myself that the terrible thing that had most likely happened here was me”
Great line in Artificial Condition by @marthawells.com
Great line in Artificial Condition by @marthawells.com
Reposted by Michael Le Page
New Epstein emails show Peter Mandelson secretly advising JPMorgan’s CEO on how to fight Labour’s 2009 bankers’ bonus tax - even suggesting he “mildly threaten” the Chancellor.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
February 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
New Epstein emails show Peter Mandelson secretly advising JPMorgan’s CEO on how to fight Labour’s 2009 bankers’ bonus tax - even suggesting he “mildly threaten” the Chancellor.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
In response, other countries should introduce mandatory vaccination requirements for US citizens, to reduce the risk of them spreading diseases to the rest of the world
February 1, 2026 at 7:28 PM
In response, other countries should introduce mandatory vaccination requirements for US citizens, to reduce the risk of them spreading diseases to the rest of the world
How long people live in countries such as Sweden is now roughly equally dependent on genes and environment 🧪
I suspect that's what many people assume anyway, but twin studies had suggested genes play a smaller role
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
I suspect that's what many people assume anyway, but twin studies had suggested genes play a smaller role
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Our lifespans may be half down to genes and half to the environment
A reanalysis of twin data from Denmark and Sweden suggests that how long we live now depends roughly equally on the genes we inherit, and on where we live and what we do
www.newscientist.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:48 PM
How long people live in countries such as Sweden is now roughly equally dependent on genes and environment 🧪
I suspect that's what many people assume anyway, but twin studies had suggested genes play a smaller role
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
I suspect that's what many people assume anyway, but twin studies had suggested genes play a smaller role
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Imagine if today's leaders could live forever. Is that really a world you'd want to be part of?
I'm definitely not a Vitalist: sometimes death is a solution, not a problem
I'm definitely not a Vitalist: sometimes death is a solution, not a problem
There's a group of people who believe death is humanity's core problem. Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who want to spark a longevity revolution. "Without a revolution, we're as good as dead," cofounder Adam Gries told me.
www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/29/1...
www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/29/1...
Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who believe death is “wrong”
They argue we need a revolution—and more and more influential scientists, funders, and politicians are taking them seriously.
www.technologyreview.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Imagine if today's leaders could live forever. Is that really a world you'd want to be part of?
I'm definitely not a Vitalist: sometimes death is a solution, not a problem
I'm definitely not a Vitalist: sometimes death is a solution, not a problem
Reposted by Michael Le Page
Quadruple whammy: High exposure, vulnerability, La Niña and human-induced climate change turned very heavy rainfall into a disastrous deluge around the Limpopo, Umbeluzi, Maputo, Incomati, Save and Buzi rivers. - new @wwattribution.bsky.social study www.worldweatherattribution.org/la-nina-clim...
January 29, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Quadruple whammy: High exposure, vulnerability, La Niña and human-induced climate change turned very heavy rainfall into a disastrous deluge around the Limpopo, Umbeluzi, Maputo, Incomati, Save and Buzi rivers. - new @wwattribution.bsky.social study www.worldweatherattribution.org/la-nina-clim...
Great to catch up with old friends and meet new people at the @absw.bsky.social event tonight, thanks to the organisers
January 28, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Great to catch up with old friends and meet new people at the @absw.bsky.social event tonight, thanks to the organisers
Reposted by Michael Le Page
Strong stuff from @mjflepage.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
To halt measles' resurgence we must fight the plague of misinformation
The measles vaccine has prevented 60 million deaths since 2000. So why are so many children around the world missing out on it?
www.newscientist.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:52 AM
Strong stuff from @mjflepage.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Reposted by Michael Le Page
Insightful @mjflepage.bsky.social on why measles is rising and what it'll take to win parents back www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
To halt measles' resurgence we must fight the plague of misinformation
The measles vaccine has prevented 60 million deaths since 2000. So why are so many children around the world missing out on it?
www.newscientist.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Insightful @mjflepage.bsky.social on why measles is rising and what it'll take to win parents back www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Measles causes severe complications in 1 in 5 children, and also kills off immune cells leaving you more vulnerable to other infections for years afterwards. lt's absolutely not a disease you want to take chances with 🧪
From my comment on measles' comeback:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
From my comment on measles' comeback:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
To halt measles' resurgence we must fight the plague of misinformation
The measles vaccine has prevented 60 million deaths since 2000. So why are so many children around the world missing out on it?
www.newscientist.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Measles causes severe complications in 1 in 5 children, and also kills off immune cells leaving you more vulnerable to other infections for years afterwards. lt's absolutely not a disease you want to take chances with 🧪
From my comment on measles' comeback:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
From my comment on measles' comeback:
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Er, get an LLM to summarise it for you?
20,000 words?!
January 27, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Er, get an LLM to summarise it for you?
Reposted by Michael Le Page
HUGE moment for the EU car market as battery EVs overtake petrol cars for the first time ever
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
January 27, 2026 at 2:46 PM
HUGE moment for the EU car market as battery EVs overtake petrol cars for the first time ever
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
Reposted by Michael Le Page
UKHSA responds to the confirmation from @WHO that the UK has lost its measles elimination status.
Read more from WHO here: https://bit.ly/3YZuOFa
Read more from WHO here: https://bit.ly/3YZuOFa
January 26, 2026 at 2:41 PM
UKHSA responds to the confirmation from @WHO that the UK has lost its measles elimination status.
Read more from WHO here: https://bit.ly/3YZuOFa
Read more from WHO here: https://bit.ly/3YZuOFa